Control valve



Oct. 26, 1954 R. D. MOLEOD 2,692,614

CONTROL VALVE Filed Oct. 1, 1948 PRESSURL F INVENTOR. 5 Roy 0. Maleoo BY 9W, 142 W A TTORNEYJ Patented Oct. 26, 1954 STATS 3' TNT OFHCE CONTROL VALVE H. Erussel, deceased Application October 1, 1948, Serial No. 52,334

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a control Valve for fluid pressure. It is an object of the invention to provide a self-contained valve in a single housing ready for attachment to air pressure and motor ports for the control of a fluid motor.

A further object is a valve construction which will permit extremely rapid operation with a solenoid control, the parts being arranged to prevent any out-of-phase relation. This is accomplished by utilizing actuating pressure on only one control side in a cycle, the other control side of the valve being actuated by the escape air from the off-side of the actuated motor.

Additional objects are the reduction of total parts, elimination of packing, reduction of air travel through the valve, reduction in wearing parts, and elimination of springs.

It is a further object to provide an operating member of a valve above described which is a one-piece unit designed to permit the greatest flow of air through the valve without interfering with the rapid operation and positive cut off.

Other objects will be apparent as the description progresses.

This application shows a valve housing similar to that disclosed and described in my pending application Serial No. 714,735 filed December 7, 1946, now Patent 2,646,820, issued .Tulv 28. 1953.

In the drawings, treating Figure l as a vertical position for the valve.

Figure l is a vertical section through the valve showing the operating valve parts.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an elevation of the poppet valve.

Figure 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

To describe the general plan of the housing briefly, a main housing A rests on a base housing B and is covered by a closure housing C. As the assembly is viewed in Figure 1, the main housing A has three parallel valve bores, one in the center for a pilot control valve, and one on each side for actuating valves. Each side bore opens to a pressure chamber at the bottom in base B and to an operating chamber at the top in the portion C. In each side valve bore is a first chamber spaced from the bottom which can be called the cylinder chamber. Spaced upward in each side bore is an exhaust chamber. The exhaust chambers are connected through a cored passage leading to an exhaust outlet in the base B. Each cylinder port leads downward to a cylinder outlet in the base B.

Now taking up the parts in more detail, the base B is a casting, provided with an air inlet 2 leading to chambers 2i and 22 which, in operation, are connected to a constant source of fluid pressure.

The main housing A has two operating valve cylinders or bores, the lower ends of which may be represented by reference characters ill and ll. The upper ends, which are of slightly larger diameter, are designated respectively 56 and 51. In the bores are slidable poppets 45 and 35. In the lower bores iii and ii are ports 60 and Bi, respectively, spaced upwardly from the bottom of the bores. These are cylinder ports. In the larger upper bores 50 and 5 are ports it and l! which are exhaust ports connecting to a cored passage (not shown) in housing A leading downward to an exhaust in the base B. Bolts 14 hold housing A on the base B.

The cover plate C is provided with two ports or chambers 1'5 and 16 aligned with bores 5t and Eli. These chambers 15 and it may be called operating chambers since they receive air under pressure to actuate poppets 45 or 46. Also supported on the cover plate C is a solenoid S having a plunger P which actuates the stem of a control valve 85 slidably mounted in a central bore of the housing A. Bolts 17 hold housing C in place on housing A.-

The poppets t5 and 45 are shiftable to an open position where they rest on a small pedestal 8G in base B, and to a top closed position where a neoprene ring 8i serves to seal the valve bore from the pressure chamber in the base. The poppets 45 and 46 are shaped in general spoollike formation with a top portion and 56 of slightly larger diameter than the lower portion, thus accommodating the two diameters of the bores 464| and Ell-45!. Neoprene rings 8! and 82 are provided substantially at each end of the valve poppet, and the center a neoprene ring 83 is provided on a center land to cooperate with the bore as will be described later. Between the lower land and the middle land of the valve are fins 5'! shown best in the sectional view 01' Figure 4. These fins permit air to pass the valve when in the position shown for example on the right hand side of Figure 1, otherwise the fins serve as guide surfaces at the outer edge.

Thus far there has been described a control valve for a double ended motor commonly called a 4-way valve. With the parts shown in the position of Figure 1, pressure can pass from chamber 2!, as shown by the dotted arrows, to the cylinder port and out through passages in base B to one end of a motor. Meanwhile, exhaust air in the other end of an operated motor will pass to port iii Where it passes the fins of poppet 46.

leading to exhaust port 'II. When the parts are in the reverse position, a reverse action will take place.

The valve assembly above described for purposes of illustration is a pilot-operated valve, although it could be a manually-operated valve. In the pilot operation, the valve 95 previously referred to as actuated by solenoid S, serves to direct pressure selectively to actuating chambers I or 19 where it acts on the top surfaces of poppets 45 or to shift them downwardly. Since poppets ends 55 and 55 are larger in effective diameter than the lower ends of poppets and 46, this movement will take place against the pressure in chambers 2I or 22.

The valve 95 is a control valve for directing pressure alternately to the upper ends 55 and 56 of poppets 45 and 46 to control the movement of these poppets. This valve 95 is fully described in its operation in my copending application Serial No. 714,735, filed December 7, 1946, now Patent 2,646,820, issued July 28, 1953. Generally the operation of the valve 95 is as follows.

Pressure is supplied through a passage I50 leading from pressure chamber 2I. Port 92 feeds the valve and ports 93 and 94 are respectively positioned on either side of port 92. Port 94 connects with a passage I5I in housing A leading to a passage I52 and the chamber I6 of housing C. Port A 93 connects with a passage I53 which leads to a passage I54 in housing C and the chamber 15. Passage I53 has a diametrically opposed symmetrical passage I56 which has a blind end in Figure 1; the function of passage I56 is not important to this disclosure.

Taking up now the operation of the entire unit, when the solenoid is de-energized, the weight of the plunger P will carry valve 95 down to the position of Figure 1. Pressure from chamber 2| will follow passage I50 to port 92 where it is directed by valve 95 in the down position of Figure 1 to port 93 and passages I53, I54- to chamber I5 where it exerts pressure on the top of poppet 45 and moves the poppet 45 to the down position. Pressure can then pass from chamber 2I to cylinder port as previously described. When the solenoid is energized, valve will be moved up and then pressure from chamber 2I follows passage I50 to port 92 and is distributed by valve 95 to port 94 and passage I'5I, I52 to chamber I6. This will shift the right-hand poppet 45- downward.

Meanwhile pressure from. the cylinder port 60, which is connected to the exhaust end of a double ported motor, will explode into the valve passing the fins 51 of poppet 45, and going to exhaust port 10. Pressure on the top of poppet 45 is, of course, relieved through valve 95 so that this action may take place. Poppet 45 is moved upward by pressure in chamber 2| to close that chamber as soon as pressure on the top of poppet 55 is relieved.

It will be seen that only one side of the valve is actuated by live pressure at any one time as distinguished from some pilot-operated valves in which one control side is actuated in one direction while the other control side is actuated in the reverse direction. In the applicants design, there is no possibility of out-of-phase movement in rapid operation since the exhaust air from the motor actually finds its own way out of the valve. It will be seen further that a very small amount of pilot air can control the relatively large size poppets and that the entire unit is adaptable to rapid operation.

What I claim is:

1. A stcmless rapid operating valve pressure actuated in two directions comprising a housing having a bore with spaced exhaust and cylinder ports between the ends thereof, one end of the bore being enlarged over the other, means in the housing to direct pressure selectively to the enlarged end of said bore, means forming a pressure chamber at the smaller end of said bore, said pressure chamber being enlarged relative to said bore, a valve slidable in said bore comprising a circularly cross-sectioned elongate piece having an enlarged actuating end at the enlarged end of the bore, and spaced lands, one substantially central of the valve and one at the other end, said lands being spaced to span and to separate said exhaust and cylinder ports depending on the position of the valve and axial guide lands on said valve between said spaced lands to guide said valve between said ports, the end land of the valve projecting into said pressure chamber, a resilient bumper member to serve as a cushion between the valve and the housing at the enlarged end of said bore, whereby pressure in said pressure chamber urges said valve into said bore against said cushion and pressure directed selectively to the enlarged end of said bore projects said valve into said pressure chamber to admit pressure from said chamber past said axial lands to one of said ports, and means at the end of the housing in the pressure chamber to serve as a stop for the projecting end of the valve.

2. A valve combination as defined in claim 1 in which the end land of the valve is surface grooved, and an O-ring of resilient material is located in said groove projecting radially therefrom and arranged to move in and out of said bore as said valve is projected into and out of said bore.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 318,247 Harvey May 19, 1885 423,105 Allen Mar. 11, 1890 443,789 Ongley Dec. 30, 1890 653,187 Smith July 3, 1900 2,001,941 Rowe May 21, 1935 2,211,319 Camerota Aug. 13, 1940 2,414,451 Christensen Jan. 21, 1947 2,445,505 Ashton July 20, 1948 

